I welcome the programme for government that the First Minister set out yesterday.
Opposition members would expect me to support the First Minister, but they do not need to take my word for it: measures in the programme for government have been welcomed by organisations including the Educational Institute of Scotland, Citizens Advice Scotland, the Federation of Small Businesses, the Scottish Police Federation, the advice, support, safety and information services together project—ASSIST—and domestic abuse services, Community Safety Glasgow, Rape Crisis Scotland, gordonsfightback.com, the Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland, the link worker programme, Shelter, the Law Society of Scotland and MND Scotland, among others.
Since May, we have had the dubious benefit of knowing that, in the years ahead, Scotland will continue to be battered by cuts at the hands of a Tory majority Government in Westminster, with a four-year spending review scheduled for the end of November. Therefore, a robust programme, such as the one that has been announced, is an absolute necessity.
Over the past five years, the Scottish Parliament’s revenue budget has been cut by 10 per cent and the capital budget by more than a quarter. The finance secretary and Deputy First Minister, John Swinney, must take huge credit for minimising the pain of those cuts and for making the most of available resources to grow the Scottish economy. At this morning’s Finance Committee meeting, he reminded us that construction employment in Scotland has grown by 21 per cent over the past 12 months as a direct result of Scottish Government decisions to focus on capital investment where possible. In addition, unemployment levels fell by 13,000 in Scotland in the last quarter, while they rose by 25,000 across the UK.
We need only look at the chief economist’s state of the economy report, which was published on 21 August, to see that, despite a challenging backdrop, earlier this year the Scottish economy was in its 11th consecutive quarter of growth. The report also states that growth has been recorded across all main sectors of the economy, which gives the lie to the assertion that uncertainty over Scotland’s constitutional future deterred investment by business here or from overseas.
Between 2007, when the SNP first came into government, and 2013, the value of Scotland’s international exports increased from £20 billion to £27.9 billion, which is an increase of 40 per cent. The Scottish Government has made great efforts to sustain our vital small business sector, which I know is delighted that the small business bonus scheme will be extended for another five years. That will deliver stability to our small businesses and help them to not just survive but thrive.
Our gross domestic product has not only returned to but surpassed its pre-recession level. The female employment rate is at a record high of 72.5 per cent, whereas the UK rate is 68.6 per cent. Furthermore, the Scottish Government’s clear commitment to youth employment seems to be paying off, as there are 363,000 young people in employment, which is the highest number since 2005. Between April and June of this year, 20,000 people in Scotland aged 16 to 24 who did not previously have jobs were able to move into employment. That rise in youth employment levels is in stark contrast to the situation across the UK where, over the same period, the youth employment rate did not increase at all.
I will respond to what Malcolm Chisholm said about air passenger duty. Last week, I visited Glasgow airport. Over the past three years, it has increased its workforce from 4,300 to more than 5,000, and it is growing its number of routes by 17 this year. Those 5,000 people include everyone from baggage handlers and retail workers to those in high-engineering and high-tech employment. Airports are an engine of the economy, and they say that the Scottish Government having control of APD will allow them to expand much further and employ hundreds, if not thousands, more people in the years ahead, thereby bringing into Scotland some of the revenue that Mr Chisholm fears will be lost.
I turn to the health service. The Scottish Government allocated a record £12 billion to our national health service this year, and staffing levels are at a record high. There has been an increase that is equivalent to more than 10,500 full-time NHS workers since the Scottish National Party came into office.
The Scottish Government has replaced the Tory-Labour private finance initiative with the non-profit-distributing model and funded investment by traditional means. In my constituency of Cunninghame North, on-going capital projects include the new £18 million Brodick harbour, the £43 million Garnock academy and the £12 million development at sportscotland’s national sports training centre lnverclyde in Largs, which was signed off two days ago and is to be completed by December next year. In addition, 70 affordable houses for families will be started in Ardrossan in January.
Moreover, one of the two ships that were announced as part of the £97 million tender that Ferguson’s shipyard won will ply the Ardrossan to Brodick route; work will soon begin on a new £63 million Largs academy campus; and the Minister for Transport and Islands, Derek Mackay, confirmed just yesterday that, in reference to the £28 million Dalry bypass, which has been delayed because of a public local inquiry,
“The Scottish Government remains committed to delivering this much-needed infrastructure project.”
Scotland now has 1,038 more police officers than it did when the SNP came to office, while in England and Wales numbers have fallen by more than 17,000 over five years. There are fears among police chiefs south of the border that, over the coming years, an additional 22,000 officers will be lost.
The Scottish Government ensures sustainable benefits to the Scottish economy through investing in skills, education and job creation. In that respect, I welcome the Scottish Government’s proposal to increase the number of apprentices to 30,000 by 2020.
Welfare reform has meant that the Scottish Government has committed resources to mitigate some of the ill-thought-out policies imposed by the UK Government, such as the bedroom tax. That illustrates the need for further devolution, not only to abolish such impositions but to ensure that they are never again imposed on Scotland.
Yesterday, the First Minister set out how the Scottish Government plans to use the new powers that are coming our way, but for fiscal devolution to work, it is essential that the Scottish Government has the flexibility to pursue distinct fiscal policies within an overall UK fiscal framework.
With regard to the additional borrowing powers proposed by the Smith commission, those for current spending need to be significantly increased and should be commensurate with the risks faced by the Scottish Government post-Smith, while prudential borrowing over current capital departmental expenditure limits is necessary to increase investment.